If you think you’re too old, too frail, or too unskilled to be of any use in building a Habitat for Humanity house, you’re wrong. Anyone over 18 can work on the build site; Habitat Fairfield County's oldest on-site female volunteer is 82.
My credit cards were declined. When a man behind me in the Food Emporium line (a fellow church member) had to step up and pay for my groceries, I knew this was my fork-in-the-road moment.
The trail became wider. We passed people coming down from the summit. “You’re close,” they said, their faces as blue/green as the glaciers. We weren’t close.
All hell broke loose. The moon and stars disappeared. The sky shook with thunder and lightning. A fierce wind kicked up. Snow fell sideways and froze onto our faces. We turned on our headlamps so that we could see in the dark. It's a good think we couldn't see the narrowness of the switchbacks we were negotiating.
Like good Vassar women of generations past, we all eventually got our MRS degree. Our focus became juggling marriage, motherhood, and careers. But as a group we, the Vassar 6, drifted apart. Until four years ago.
"My eyes homed into the step below as I figured out where to plant, first the trekking poles, then my feet. One misstep and there would be no way to stop the fall. Broken bones for sure, although death was not out of the question.”
One small stumble into the sand for Diana was like one giant leap for female athletes of any age who dare to dream big and work relentlessly toward a goal.
"My greatest fears revolved around 'Dead Woman’s Pass,' at more than 13,000 feet, which we would climb on Day 2. I don’t know how it got its name, but I trembled at the thought of becoming the dead woman."
There’s nothing we can do to the landscape to prepare for tornadoes, but there are things to be done, pre-hurricane, to prevent devastation to your house and garden.